We're here to help you figure out the right approach to your nutritional goals with MyFitCoach. However, before we discuss which goal (building muscle, losing fat, or maintaining weight) is best for you, it's important to understand what your objective is in strength training. Do you want to build muscle, burn fat, or simply improve your overall fitness? Depending on your goal, you should choose your nutritional objective differently.
Building Muscle
For muscle-building, we generally recommend a calorie surplus. This means you should consume more calories than you burn. By maintaining a calorie surplus, you ensure your body has enough energy to build muscle. However, we advise not to set your calorie intake too high, as this can lead to excessive fat gain. Choose the "Build Muscle" goal and set a realistic target weight. We suggest a calorie surplus that's in the green target weight change.
Up to what body fat percentage is a calorie surplus beneficial? There were 2 relevant studies for this
Up to what body fat percentage is a calorie surplus beneficial? There were 2 relevant studies for this
Agostini et al. (2021): In their meta-analysis, Agostini et al. studied the effects of nutrition on body weight and fat loss, as well as muscle gain in individuals with a body fat percentage above 20%. The authors recommend a calorie surplus up to a body fat percentage of about 20-25% to achieve maximum muscle growth and avoid excessive fat accumulation.
Garthe et al. (2011) examined the impact of nutrition on body composition and athletic performance in strength athletes with varying body fat percentages. The authors suggest a calorie surplus up to a body fat percentage of about 15-20% to achieve optimal muscle growth and avoid excessive fat accumulation.
💡In summary, your body fat percentage during a bulk should, on average, be a maximum of 20%.
Losing Fat
If you want to lose fat, we recommend a diet. A diet means you should consume fewer calories than you burn. Choose the "Lose Fat" goal and set a realistic target weight. It's important to note that a too drastic diet can be counterproductive. If you take in too few calories, your body may start using muscles as an energy source. This can lead to a loss of muscle mass and slow down your metabolism. We recommend keeping your calorie deficit within the green target weight change to burn fat without burning your muscle mass.
Maintaining Weight
If you're already happy with your weight and muscle mass and you simply want to improve your overall fitness or maintain your current form, we recommend keeping your calorie intake at a stable level. This means you should consume as many calories as you burn. Choose the "Maintain Weight" goal. This way, you can ensure that your body has enough energy to perform your workouts without gaining fat.
It's important to note that these recommendations are general and should be individually adjusted for everyone. The choice of the right nutritional goal depends on many factors, such as your age, gender, training condition, and metabolism. If you're unsure about which nutritional strategy is best for you, feel free to contact our support at any time.
If you have further questions or suggestions, please email us at support@myfitcoach.com.